Erik's POV

After a week or two of being ill, I began to feel guilty. My heart took a turn for the worse and most days I spent my time in bed. In Paris, I had a weak heart, one that had gotten better because of Christine. But now that she was gone, my heart couldn't be alive and whole…even though I had Gustave in my life. Some days I was able to take Gustave to school, but other days I couldn't find the strength to get out of bed. On those days, Nadir would take over, walking my boy to and from class. In Paris, he had been my enemy and in Coney Island, he was my life saver.

"Erik, how are you feeling today?"

Nadir came walking into my room with a tray in hand. Ever since I had come down with my weak heart, he had been making me breakfast, among other things.

"Not so well…" I murmured. "My chest feels heavy."

"Here, I made you some tea with honey. It should take away some of your pain."

I sat up to sip on the tea, already wondering where Gustave was.

"Nadir, where is Gustave?"

"At school. I walked him there earlier. They say it's going to snow tonight…"

"Wonderful," I sarcastically replied. "That's all I need. Snow and for me to be too ill to shovel."

"Don't even think about it, Erik. You're way too ill to shovel your own driveway, let alone your entire park."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean that it can't be done. If the snow freezes over without being shoveled, my park will be an entire skating rink. No, Nadir. If it snows tonight, tomorrow, I must go out and try to clean some of it up."

"Then I'll help you, man…I will be working for you come spring time anyway. I might as well get an early start on things."

Nadir was right when he said it would snow, for that afternoon it began doing just that. After eating breakfast, I had gained enough strength to get myself out of bed and sit downstairs. I had a lot of work to complete before the spring, and therefore, I needed to get on it. By the time Gustave came running home, the ground was already covered in a light dusting. The boy ran through the door, filled with excitement.

"Papa! It's snowing…"

He was already running to the closet for his boots, when I stopped him.

"Gustave, not tonight. It's getting dark, son… Besides, you had to walk home in the cold. I wouldn't want you catching your death out there. No, I think its best that you stay inside tonight. Tomorrow you don't have school and you and I will go out."

Gustave smiled. "All right, papa…"

Satisfied, I tied the sash of my robe tighter around my waist and took a seat in my arm chair. All afternoon, I had worked on documents and different ideas for my park. All of the work had exhausted me, and now, all I wanted to do was sleep. The fire crackling in the hearth caused my eyes to become heavy, so heavy that I closed them and leaned my head against the chair.

"Mister Y?"

When I heard my son's voice, I opened my eyes to find him working on his homework in front of the fireplace.

"Yes, Gustave?"

"Do you feel all right?"

"Of course, I'm just tired is all…"

"Nadir says you don't feel well. It worries me, Mister Y…"

"Don't worry, Gustave. The doctors said that I just need my rest is all. I need to take it easy and I'm doing just that."

"I know…"

Gustave closed his book and crawled into my lap.

"We never had snow like this back home in Paris. If it snowed, it wasn't much. I like the snow here better."

"First of the season, Gustave."

"Do winters usually last long?"

"Sometimes they do, other times they don't. Now, why don't you and I go into the kitchen and make some hot chocolate?"

"Ok…"

I scooped Gustave up into my arms and carried him into the kitchen. Once there, I placed him down on the counter and began rummaging through my cabinets to find my mugs.

"Can you and I go make a snowman tomorrow?" he excitedly asked. "And can we make snow angels?"

"Yes, Gustave," I chuckled. "All in good time. I also need you to help me shovel out Phantasma tomorrow…"

"All right, papa…"

After we drank our hot chocolate, Gustave and I went to my room to rest. As I laid there in the comfort of my own bed, the boy rested his head on my chest and stared out the window at the falling snow.

"It's pretty, Mister Y…"

"No two snowflakes are the same, Gustave. Did you know that?"

The boy shook his head.

"They are unique…"

"Just like you, Mister Y…"

I smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"You know, I talk to mama all the time, Mister Y."

"And does she speak back?"

"No, but I know that she's listening. And sometimes, I talk to uncle Nadir."

"Well, I wouldn't expect much out of him. He's the worst listener in the world…"

"Don't be mean, papa…"

Just then, Gustave's cat, Egypt crawled up into his lap.

"There you are," Gustave excitedly replied. The once small kitten was no longer small. No, he had grown into a lazy house cat, one that Gustave loved more than anything in the world. With the three of us here, life was complete, for having both him and Egypt lying beside me made life worth living. What made life even better was when Christine kissed me goodnight. I wasn't sure how much longer she would be here, but I prayed that it was for the rest of my life. Living without her would be painful…It was painful enough without feeling her arms against me. If I could no longer hear her voice, I would surely die of sorrow.

Gustave's POV

That night, I slept beside my papa. There was something so wonderful about sleeping beside him and I never wanted it to end. Once morning arrived, the snow was so deep and thick, that I could barely see out of his window. Excited, I hopped out of bed and rushed to his window, gazing out at the snow covered Phantasma…

"Wow…"

Anxious, I ran back to Mister Y's bed and shook his sleeping body.

"Papa, papa, wake up…It snowed a lot!"

Mister Y shifted in his sleep and opened his eyes, still seeming extremely exhausted.

"Gustave? What time is it?"

"It's time to get up," I teased. "You promised that we would go out in the snow. Please, Mister Y…"

"All right," he said. "Go downstairs and dress warmly. I'm going to shower and then, we'll go."

I hurried downstairs and did what I was supposed to do. I dressed in my wool trousers and a heavy sweater Mister Y had passed down to me. When I was dressed, I rushed into the kitchen and began making some hot oatmeal. A few moments later, Mister Y came walking out dressed in his usual overcoat and vest. Only, instead of wearing a cotton shirt, he was wearing a wool sweater, much like the one I was wearing. Black was always his favorite color, much like mine.

"Are you dressed warm enough, Gustave?" he asked. "It's going to be extremely cold out there today."

"Yes, I'm warm enough…Sweating, actually. And after I put on my coat, I'll be in hell."

"Hey, watch your mouth…"

"Sorry,"

"You shouldn't use those words, Gustave. I told you before about that."

"Sorry, Mister Y. I'm making oatmeal…That should keep us warm."

"I bet it will."

Erik's POV

I removed my mask and took a seat at the table while the child served us the oatmeal.

"Do you really need to wear your mask today, Mister Y?"

I nodded. "I'll be out in public, Gustave. I told you this before…"

"But it's your park, Mister Y…It's closed down for the winter."

"Gustave, enough. I know that you don't like it when I wear my mask, but I do it for my own protection. All right?"

He nodded and looked up at me again.

"Your face looks like it hurt you."

I covered my distorted flesh with my hand…Indeed, I had been getting sores from wearing it, but what could I do? I needed to wear the garment whenever I walked out into public.

"I'll be all right, Gustave."

"It looks like a bad booboo…"

"It's not."

I was relieved when I heard someone knocking on the door. Gustave instantly got to his feet and ran to open it.

"Uncle Nadir!"

"Gustave, may I come in?"

"Yes, we're just sitting down for breakfast. I made oatmeal, do you want some?"

"Oatmeal? That sounds wonderful. I would love a bowl."

I didn't even look at the man, not even when he patted me on the back.

"How are you feeling today, Erik?"

"Better, thank you…"

Nadir took a seat across from me and removed his hat.

"I don't know about you, Erik, but I'll take Persia's heat any day. This snow storm stuff is for the birds."

Gustave sat a bowl of oatmeal down in front of Nadir and smiled. "I want it to be summer again, uncle Nadir. That way, Mister Y can teach me how to swim."

"I taught Reza how to swim when he was only five."

"And how did he learn?" Gustave asked.

Nadir smiled. "I pushed him into the stream…"

From beneath the table, I kicked Nadir in his leg. Oh, how dare he say such a thing?! It was bad enough when I had Gustave jump into the pool. If he believed I would do the same to him, I would never get the child in the water again.

"You idiot!" I scowled. "How could you say such a thing? I would never do that to my son."

"Oh, come now, Erik…Don't be so sore."

"You're going to frighten him, you fool!"

"I know you would never do that to me, papa…I know what happened in the pool was just an accident."

I sighed and went back to eating my breakfast.

"Well, you have your work cut out for you today, Erik. Your entire park is covered in snow…"

I finished up my meal and slipped on my mask. "Let's get to work then…"

Gustave was about to go out of the house, when I turned and noticed that he wasn't wearing his hat or scarf.

"Gustave! Your hat…"

"Ooops," he mewed. "Sorry…"

The child placed on his knitted hat, and reached for the doorknob again. "Gustave, your scarf…"

"I got it, chief…" Nadir said, leaving the kitchen.

When both of them were gone, I placed the dishes in the sink and felt Christine's hands upon my shoulders.

"You've become so caring, Erik…His scarf and hat? Who would have thought? Even Raoul never bothered reminding him about such things."

"I don't want him to catch his death," I said. "It would worry me…"

"You still have me worried, Erik."

I felt her hand against the center of my chest.

"Christine, please…"

"Don't shovel the snow today, Erik. You're not well. I need you strong, I need you here…You nearly died a few weeks ago."

"Christine, I feel perfectly fine, ange…There is work that needs to be done."

"You don't have to kill yourself, Erik. Your heart is weak, I can feel it…I can feel what you feel. I've seen you moving about for days now. You're not strong."

"I'm strong enough, Christine."

"And what would happen to Gustave if something happened to you? Please don't let this happen, Erik. Please, don't shovel the snow. Have Gustave and Nadir do it…Your employees will help too. You're too weak…"

"I am not weak!" I shouted. My anger had gotten the best of me, for I felt pain in my heart, the same pain I had felt a few weeks ago. My knees weakened, but Christine was there to lift me up.

"You're not yourself, Erik. Please, promise me that you will not work yourself too hard today. Please promise… For the rest of your life, you must take it easy. Your heart depends on it."

Christine pressed her lips to my own, and that's when I heard Gustave's voice calling for me.

"Papa! Are you coming?"

I grabbed my hat and began heading towards the door. "Yes, Gustave, I'm coming."

Outside was freezing and the snow didn't help it. Nadir, Gustave and I walked towards my storage shed in Phantasma, pulling out the snow shovels and getting to work. Already, my employees were working on clearing out the snow from store rooftops and tarps that covered the rides. Gustave laughed as he cleared the snow away from the streets, flinging a shovel full of the fluffy substance at my head.

"You're going to get it, boy!" I warned, dodging his next blow by hiding behind the cotton candy stand. I picked up a handful of snow and rolled it into a ball, throwing it towards Gustave and hitting him on the cheek.

"Give up?" I growled.

"Never!" he laughed.

"How about now?" came a voice…But before I could turn around, I felt a huge clump of snow hit me in the head. I lost my balance from the blow and landed up against the cotton candy stand. That bastard Nadir had thrown his shovel of snow towards me. Oh, I wasn't even sure why he was playing this game?

"Nadir, you idiot!"

Nadir laughed and held out his hand. "Oh, don't be so sore, man…What can I say? I beat you in almost everything."

"That is a damn lie…"

I brushed the snow away from my clothes and turned back to where Gustave was hiding.

"No, no…I got this," Nadir assured, running towards the other side of the cotton candy stand. "I'll take one for the team."

I wasn't sure what the idiot was up to, but next thing I knew, Gustave was gearing up to toss another snowball at me, when all of a sudden, one hit him in the center of his face…But that snowball wasn't white and fluffy snow…No, whatever hit him in the face had been frozen…an ice ball was more like it. The moment the object came in contact with his face, his nose began to gush blood. Oh, my blood was boiling when I saw this.

"Gustave," Nadir came rushing out from his hiding spot, but the bastard had done enough damage for one day.

"You fool!" I grabbed the man by his jacket. "Look what you've done to him!"

"Erik, it was an accident…It was a snowball."

"Don't you have enough knowledge to know the difference between a snowball and an ice ball?"

I dropped the man and went rushing to my child, scooping him up into my arms and carrying him towards my first aid station. Yes, it was closed down for the winter, but it would have to do.

Yes, folks, sometimes Nadir can be a total a-hole...Haha! Anyway, please review!